The coming week marks 56 years since Stephen Dowdell and Chris Rice’s brothers were gunned down by Lawrence police officers over a four-day period in one of the most volatile summers in the city’s history.
As the two spoke Sunday, preparing to unveil markers commemorating their brothers, Rick “Tiger” Dowdell and Harry Nicholas “Nick” Rice, their emotions were stark. The two families, along with Lawrence’s Historic Resources Commission, have been working the better part of six years to properly memorialize the two teenagers.
“I just wanted to this have this done so I didn’t believe Rick died in vain. So that he died for a reason,” Stephen, Tiger’s older brother, said. “And the reason was he wanted the racism stopped in Lawrence, Kansas.”
Sunday’s event at the Watkins Museum of History was the culmination of herculean efforts on the part of the Dowdell and Rice families to force the city to grapple with an uncomfortable part of its history, multiple speakers said.
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Rusty Monhollon, author of “This is America? The Sixties in Lawrence, Kansas,” presented on Lawrence’s embattled history in the 1960s which ultimately led to the deaths of Dowdell and Rice in July 1970.
“Lawrence literally teetered on the brink of a civil war. These deaths were not isolated incidents, nor were they unrelated,” Monhollon said. “Both occurred within the context of a community wracked by more than a decade of social and political activism, both on campus and in the streets of Lawrence, and that activism increasingly became more confrontational and violent.”
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Monhollon praised the city for installing the markers, saying the city wasn’t trying to erase its history by simply trying to pretend 1970 didn’t happen.
“Lawrence is owning its past, acknowledging the tragic deaths and acknowledging the conditions in which these two men died,” he said. “Given current times, I think it’s a lesson we should all take to heart.”
Chris Rice, who spent years undergoing legal battles with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to release its case file on Nick’s killing, said it “means the world” to finally be able to see the marker memorializing his brother’s life — and shedding truth on his killing — in person.
“It’s been a long process, but I’m so glad with the results and how it’s come out,” he said. “I’m so proud of the city of Lawrence and the City (Commission) for saying ‘Yes, let’s do this, even though it’s not popular.'”
In emotional remarks that left many in the crowd holding back tears, Stephen Dowdell expressed his appreciation for the outpouring of support the markers had received from many in the community.
“I’m just overwhelmed. I didn’t have a list of something to say, because it was hard for me to even write something down because it was hurting me,” he said. “This month has always bothered me for almost all my life, and I’m 78 years old now.”
“Racism is still rampant. Racism is like a cancer. It keeps eating up on us,” he continued. “I know that we can do better in this world and I just pray to God that one day we wipe out racism.”
Rice concluded his remarks with a call to action for those in attendance.
“If you have someone in your life who is important to you, give them a call and let them know,” he said. “Because they can be gone in a flash.”
The marker for Tiger Dowdell will be unveiled at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 16 near the old Salvation Army building at the south entrance of the alley between New Hampshire and Rhode Island streets off 10th Street.
The marker for Nick Rice will be unveiled at 7 p.m. Monday, July 20 at 1241 Oread Ave., across the street from the Mississippi Street parking garage near the Kansas Memorial Union.
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Conner Mitchell (he/him), reporter emeritus, can be reached at cmitchell (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com or 785-435-9264. If you have sensitive information to send Conner, please email connermitchell (at) protonmail (dot) com. Read more of his work for the Times here.
Carter Gaskins (he/him) has been a photographer for The Lawrence Times since April 2021. He has also been a photographer for 10-plus years in photojournalism and sports.
Check out more of his work at Gaskins-Photography.com. See his work for the Times here.
Related coverage:
Jacob Rice / Lawrence Times
Jacob Rice / Lawrence Times
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Lawrence Historic Resources Commission defers decision on markers memorializing Tiger Dowdell, Nick Rice
Nearly four years after the conversation began to memorialize two teenagers killed by Lawrence police in 1970, the Historic Resources Commission on Thursday deferred a decision on the design and language of markers that would be placed near the scenes of the killings.
Latest Lawrence news:
Logan Pierson / Lawrence Times
Jacob Rice / Lawrence Times
